Brees, Fitzgerald, Kuechly, Vinatieri, Craig make Hall of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its 2026 class Thursday evening as part of the NFL Honors awards ceremony, with five players, including quarterback Drew Brees and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, selected for enshrinement later this year.

Brees and Fitzgerald received the nod in their first year of eligibility. They will be joined by kicker Adam Vinatieri and linebacker Luke Kuechly, who were in their second year of eligibility.

And rounding out the class is running back Roger Craig, who was a finalist as a senior.

But the 2026 class, similar to the previous one, will also be noticed for those who did not make it. Last year it was former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning. This year, it was former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and current owner Robert Kraft, who were among five finalists for senior contributors, coaches and players who last appeared in a game in 2000 or earlier. Belichick was in his first year of eligibility, and his reported omission last week has since drawn widespread criticism.

“His stats speak for themselves,” said Vinatieri, who played six years for Belichick.

“I thought he would have a really good chance of being up there as well. The people who voted voted and I think he’ll be here one day.”

The Hall selection committee chose this year’s class during a virtual meeting in January. The five new Hall of Famers will be inducted Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio, and the class is slightly larger than last year’s four.

Brees, the longtime New Orleans Saints star, retired after the 2020 season as a 13-time Pro Bowl selection. He led the league in passing seven times, had a record five 5,000-yard passing seasons, and his 80,538 passing yards were an NFL record when he retired (eclipsed by Tom Brady in 2021).

Fitzgerald, who ranks second all-time in receiving yards (17,492) and receptions (1,432) and sixth in touchdowns (121), will be the first Hall of Famer to spend his entire career with the Arizona Cardinals. He was an 11-time Pro Bowl selection and an all-decade pick for the 2010s.

“One of the coolest moments was getting up on that stage with all the other Hall of Famers,” Fitzgerald said after the NFL Honors concluded in San Francisco. “That moment kind of crystallized it for me.”

In addition to being the NFL’s all-time leader in points scored with 2,673, Vinatieri set NFL records in field goal attempts (715), field goals (599), games played (365) and consecutive field goals (44) during a 24-year career spent between the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. He made 29 game-winning field goals, including a record 10 in overtime. He also holds NFL postseason records for points (238), field goal attempts (69) and field goals (56).

Vinatieri was named to the NFL’s 100th anniversary team. Belichick called Vinatieri’s 45-yard field goal in a snowstorm during the “Tuck Rule” game — which sent the Patriots to the 2001 AFC divisional round against the Raiders in overtime — the “greatest kick of all time.” Vinatieri also kicked the winner that night.

Kuechly was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and five-time All-Pro before retiring after eight seasons due to concerns over concussions he suffered during his career. He was also named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, his second season in the league, and was then a All-Decade pick for the 2010s. He made at least 100 tackles in all eight of his seasons and led the league in tackles twice – as a rookie and in 2014.

Craig was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and played against three Super Bowl champions with the 49ers. In 1985, he became the first player in NFL history to have at least 1,000 rushing yards and at least 1,000 receiving yards in the same season, and he also led the league with 91 receptions. Only two others have accomplished this feat in the 40 seasons since: Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk in 1999 and Christian McCaffrey in 2019.

Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh considered Craig a key to his West Coast offense, one of the most prolific in league history.

Craig was the only finalist from the Senior, Coaching and Contributing subcommittees to be selected for enshrinement this year. Quarterback Ken Anderson and defensive end LC Greenwood were the other Senior finalists.

Modern-era finalists not admitted to the Hall this year included tight end Jason Witten, running back Frank Gore, guard Marshal Yanda, defensive end Terrell Suggs and tackle Willie Anderson. Among them, Yanda, Anderson and Suggs are automatic finalists in the class of 2027 because they qualified for the final selection this year.